New family cars due, but what to get?

[trooper30]

Alright fellas, hope your all keeping well. In the next few weeks am gonna be looking for a new family car so I need your opinions. A family size 4door hatch, It has to be economical, hence im leaning towards diesel, no to small an engine as we do a lot of motorways, not to big an engine to keep the insurance down, were paying £530 for our 2000 Xant Hdi, preferably all the toys realistically something mid-top range, but 1st thing is economy, and on a budget of £3500 max.
So throw your suggestions this way fellas.

[Norlander]

But how many of a family -- and if children, what ages?

[bxzx16v]

A C5 II would be a good choice in 2.0Hdi Vtr/Vtx spec , they keep cropping up on Autotrader and I may be tempted myself when I sell my van , or what about a Peugeot 2.0 Hdi 407 estate , both nice cars


Mark

[trooper30]

But how many of a family -- and if children, what ages?

2 Adults one child one dog. Been trying to push the wife in the C5 direction but she isnt to impresed with the interior or the toys

[myglaren]

I'm reasonably impressed with my daughter's Rover 75 Connoisseur, 2L BMW diesel.

I have it here at the moment. Was fitting new headlamp bulbs yesterday and it took longer than expected so she went off to work in my C5.

It seemed to me to ride better than the C5 around town but yesterday we went for bulbs in the C5, I dropped one inside the headlamp/bumper assembly and she took mine, I took hers for another bulb and have to say that the C5 seemed better (which pleases me no end)
I do like the Rover though. She finds it very economical in comparison to her previous SAABs (not as much fun though).

The cabin is very nice and there are lots of toys - I keep finding more and more.
The built in satnav is worse than useless though.

[Chris570]

keep the xant. save the cash, is what i've done

(someone had to say it)

[addo]

Aye, case closed.

I've been challenged a bit lately in terms of what level of personal concessions I may make for another. It showed me up as an intolerant pee-are-eye-see-kay.

[CitroJim]

keep the xant. save the cash, is what i've done

(someone had to say it)

And I'll say it too...

[Citroenmad]

A C5 II would be a good choice in 2.0Hdi Vtr/Vtx spec , they keep cropping up on Autotrader and I may be tempted myself when I sell my van
Mark

Exactly my recommendations!

The 2.0HDi 16v is very economical, better than the 2.0 8v, has lots of pull and is a great drive, the 6 speed box is veyr nice to use too. Insurance isnt too bad, even for me. Mine spends a lot of time on motorways and its perfect for that.

C5s are so very good value too, you can find a C5II 2.0HDi for very sensible money. There are two on autotrader which are really tempting me, and I already have one!

The interior is nice in my opinion, much better than the S1 C5s and the VTR or VTX is the best interior. Unless you find an Exclusive with leather ... normal Exclusives have awful material on the seats, I discounted Exclusives for that reason. Also some dark coloured Exclusives have a light interior, again with the horrid cloth, its not nice. Dark interiors of the VTR and VTX (Same interior actually) are the best ones.

VTR has dual zone climate control (far far better than the earlier S1 C5s), automatic wipers and auto lights, cruise control, speed limiter, 4 electric windows, front fogs, alarm, etc etc. Some very nice touches with the C5IIs, im often getting comments about how nice it is to be in from passengers.

They are a fantasticaly safe car too, very very strong, scores the highest crash rating and its a very solid drive. C5s are quite a bit bigger than Xantias, so they have a noticeably bigger boot and more room inside too.

I have looked at alternatives and for the money there is nothing which comes close in the large car market in my opinion. I looked at Lagunas, Vectras, Mondeos, Passats and a few others, nothing seemed quite as nice as my previous C5, so I got another. Perhaps a 407 but thats afairly similar car. You might well miss your Xantias suspension if you go away from a large Citroen. I still wouldn't swap mine for anything else.

Both of our C5IIs perform faultlessly and both do quite a high annual milage, they only ever require service items.

[R9UKE]

Something different? Not the obvious choice. Far more individual. It'll attract much more attention and compliments than any family saloon - guaranteed.

[Citroenmad]

Something different? Not the obvious choice. Far more individual. It'll attract much more attention and compliments than any family saloon - guaranteed.

Not a totally stupid idea Luke! There are plenty of bargains to be had too. Just go for the 3.0DCi and forget the 2.2

[trooper30]

Wow thanks for the C5 lowdown there Citroenmad, cheers.
Yea there is a large school of thought to keep the Xantia as it is a very good HDi which hasn’t even broke 100k yet, I know the car, know its niggles, know its very dependable. But...................
Being in a position to spend a chunk of money on a family car that’s our personal transport (as opposed to buying on selling which is the norm) doesn’t come around very often and could be a good few years when im in a position to buy again.
Had a look at a few C5II and for the cash you cant get much better, looked at a C6 for £3900 but the wife recons a C6 will double the insurance payments. I know the HDi is a great engine but does anyone have an opion on other diesel makes fordTDCi VauxhallCDTi and the like. The wife has spied a few Vauxhall Signum,s (I know, i know, your all screaming ARGHH, ITS A FUKIN VAUXHALL! ) but I have no clue about there CDTi lump, although they do seem very well equiped.
Decisions decisions

[R9UKE]

Signums are BEAUTIFUL! I'd have suggested one of those too but it's grounds for crucifixion on here. 3.2 V6 petrol Signum for me please... I seriously really DO want one.

[CitroJim]

Signums are BEAUTIFUL!

By contemporary standards they're not too hard on the eye (my neighbour has one) but beautiful they are not. It's also built with all the quality of a Lada as far as I can see. Cheap and nasty...

It's certainly nowhere near as pleasing on the eye as the new Megane is...

[Citroenmad]

Wow thanks for the C5 lowdown there Citroenmad, cheers.
I know the HDi is a great engine but does anyone have an opion on other diesel makes fordTDCi VauxhallCDTi and the like. The wife has spied a few Vauxhall Signum,s (I know, i know, your all screaming ARGHH, ITS A FUKIN VAUXHALL! ) but I have no clue about there CDTi lump, although they do seem very well equiped.
Decisions decisions

I don't speak of personal experience, only what I have heard and read from various people and forums while looking to purchase a car:

The 2.0TDCi is ok-ish, The mondeo forums suggest they east injectors fairly readily. They are timing chain driven so thats a half good thing. However I looked at 3 or 4 Mondeos two years back as I was interested in getting a TDCi version. However, despite the cars being 2003/2004 registered all but one had very noticeable or starting rust on the inside of the rear doors. Very dissapointing and the interiors all seemed quite worn with 70-80K. I didnt buy one! The 1.8TDCi is still used and always the cheaper out of the lot ...

The 1.9 CDTi is a Fiat unit, Im not sure exactly on their reliability but I know one thing and its something I dont like the sound of. The oil dipstick has three marks, min, max and then another mark way above max. Max is the level you fill yo on a service, the mark much higher is when you need to change the oil ... fuel gets into the sump and fills up past maximum. There has been cases where this has gone unnoticed and the car has actually started to run on its own oil, when that happens its pretty much dead. Im sure they suffer from EGR problems too.

The 1.9DCi engine is veyr well know, some people have never had a problem with them. However when I was seriously interested in getting a LagunaII I did a good bit of research on the relevant forums and found that even the people on there would not recommend one. Turbos are the main problems, which can break up and ruin the engine. The bearings in the engine are known to fail. Gearboxes are not great. Engines and turbos have been known to go from anything from 30K onwards. Most of this my Renault Dealer Service manager told me about when we had just sold our 1.9DCi ScenicII - close call - 22K miles and it was already developing a crunchy gearbox and a groaning clutch.

Frequent servicing would help with most of the above, using good quality fuels to prolong injector life etc etc. When you think how many of them are on the road they can not be all bad.

Have a look around on forums of the cars you are considering and get a better feel. Owners review sites are often good too, however often people report about bad experiences and not good ones ... also how people maintain their cars and so on has an effect. If its something like the Renault which doesn't seem to get along well with its set long service intervals then more frequent oil changes will be a benefit.

When we bought both of our 2.0HDi 16v C5IIs we were only interested in ones with a full service history and had been serviced every year or 10K, which ever was first. As they should be on every 20K, and that is not good enough in my book!

However, you only have to think how many manufacturers use the PSA HDi engines to realise they must be one of the best. The modern 16v HDis are excellent!

On that note, some Ford TDCis are actually HDi units, so you need to know what your buying and you might avoid a true TDCi. Volvos use the HDi engines, as do Mazda etc. Though all in quite recent years, late 2004 onwards I would say. The 2001-2009 Mondeo only has the 2.0TDCi Ford unit and a 2.2TDCi Ford unit, not HDis. Focus's and new shape Mondeos have HDis in 1.6 and 2.0.

And where is this £3900 C6? Ill get my keys and head out ...